the new cnn poll, poll of polls, mitt romney has a slight lead with likely voters, 48% to 47%. his performance certainly showed that you can't say it doesn't matter anymore. there is no bigger swing state than ohio, where you are. >> reporter: the history tells you no republican has ever been elected president without winning the state of ohio. can you do the math and have romney win without this state? yes. is it likely? no. before the debate some polls had him down as many as nine points in ohio. new cnn poll row leased last night has him down four, 51-47. another group, american research group show ed romney up a point in ohio. no question. just like in the national polls, a bit of a boost. romney is up in the suburbs, up among independents. there's signs of strength here from romney, we can tell you there are a few soft spots he needs to work on. >> john king in ohio, covering the debates as well. thank you very much. watch live coverage of the debate tomorrow night, 7:00 eastern. watch it on cnn or on cnn.com. >>> happening this morning, the color of a college applicant's